A/N: Soulmate!au combined with a side of reincarnation. In this, Bellatrix was imprisoned instead of killed during the war.
For Amber, because she mentioned being curious about this ship a long time ago. Enjoy, darling!
…
As the guards escort him into Azkaban Prison, it feels likes his mind is playing tricks on him. It happens every single time, no matter how much he prepares himself. Kingsley knows he is a fool, but it doesn't matter to the wild part of his heart that seems to sing out in excitement as he gets further in.
By now, everything has faded. The guards and the mad screams of fellow prisoners are lost in time. There is only one thing on his mind, no matter how much he lies to himself and pretends he's simply here on official business as the Minister of Magic.
His legs know where to go, even if he's never been this far into the prison since the last trial finished. In front of him, a door so warded it seems to vibrate looms. Kingsley looks through the door of the cell and tries his best not to cry or scream in utter frustration.
She looks the same — hooded black eyes and a sinister smirk, wild hair falling in mad waves across her hip-bones. Bellatrix Black, no matter what life they find themselves in, always looks a little too insane, too much for any world to handle without collapsing at the seams.
…
In the last life Kingsley can remember, they are the highest class of royalty and they reign. Bellatrix is a daughter of the ruling royal family, not lucky enough to be from the royal branch, but one important enough that people take notice of her and the way things always end up the way she wants them too.
It is hard not to notice her, with the way she takes all the air out of the room, the way her words drip acid and haughtiness, the way she tosses her hair off her face to reveal lips the exact shade of blood.
It takes four scandals and four deaths, but Bellatrix becomes queen. Kingsley is only surprised it takes that long. He has seen her do things that make taking over look like mere child's play.
As a prince from another kingdom, he is her investment and it seems that destiny haunts them. Kingsley becomes her king and it is like every star in the night sky explodes in the after-effects of their shared rule. You can only duck under the radar for so long until it consumes you.
On their marriage night, Bellatrix creates bruises with her lips against his neck, marking him as hers, and Kingsley thinks about how they never did find all the parts of former crown-prince Sirius, the next in line for the throne until he died with the rest of that branch of the royal family, a scream on his lips.
He tries to feel sick, but being beside Bellatrix makes him feel like a part of his torn soul has returned, and he cannot manage to hate himself or her, not after feeling utterly empty for so long.
…
In some lives, they are magical, sheer powers pouring out of their wands. Bellatrix remakes the universe in her image and he is the devastation left behind by her catalyst, the second wave after the world dares to try and recover.
Other times, they possess no magic, but it doesn't matter. She is a terror on her own—blood dripping off her lips as sweet as honey, eyes like the void, pure madness in every movement.
Bellatrix Black is like the stars and she is always the brightest—deadliest, seductive, all-consuming—before she leaves him behind, and like a fool, he follows her to even the darkest of place.
…
Sometimes, he is cowardly enough to dream. The sun warms him from the inside out and he imagines a world where her edges don't make him bleed, where they live a peaceful, normal life and he never wonders what originally turned her into a monster.
They have kids. They don't have deadly games as natural as breathing. Kissing her does not feel like a sin some days and like worship on the next ones.
But nightfall comes around like clockwork, and he is left to rot with the maggots devouring his dreams — a lost boy with no home, an anchor with nothing to connect himself to but his shattered hopes.
…
"Missed me, love?" Bellatrix taunts from inside her cell, her face pressed so tightly against the glass that he can see the fog when she exhales. "It's been awhile since it's been just the two of us alone, my King."
"There are guards down the hall," he shoots back dully, ignoring her words. He can't let her see how much she's affecting him because there is a part of him that knows that she could manipulate him into letting her go free. Their souls, even at a disconnect like this, call to each other, a deep song of sorrow. Between the two of them, they are never alone, his demons are always haunting reminders of everything he didn't stop her from doing because he loved her too much.
I miss you, he thinks, and he can tell she understands from the way she smiles mockingly. It's chilling, the way soulmates seem to be able to read each other minds sometimes. There's nothing that can prepare him for it, and he's jealous of the way it never affects her.
"Oh honey, how's the world without me?" she taunts, winking at him. Kingsley looks away. "Must be, because you seem far worse off then I do. Not even the dementors can compare to how you look exactly like what the cat dragged it."
"You're mad," Kingsley whispers and it's a prayer because even know she's not mad enough to know he's a liar.
"Are you jealous that I'm kind of pretty and you're not?" Bellatrix tosses her head back, cackling madly, and the guards tense, and Kingsley remembers her like this, proud and always in control. It feels him with a deep nostalgia, and a part of him weakens, but he tries to hold his head high.
Not this time. This time, he's going to be strong like he wasn't before. This time, the world won't end with his help. If she wants to start a war, she'd have to do it alone, even if she manages to escape the cell.
"Goodbye, Bellatrix," Kingsley says and turns around to leave, the guards protectively at his back. They are silent, never asking him why he's visiting the Dark Lord's most faithful or why she talks to him like they mean something to each other.
Her laughter follows him out like war drums and he closes his eyes, trying to block out the sound before it chains itself into his memories forever. He's doing the right thing this time and he doesn't look back.
(He does. He looks back and the cycle threatens to repeat all over again.)
(The problem is, it's never been one he's truly been willing to break because that means losing her, and he's never been able to handle that, no matter how many pretty lies he tells himself.)
...
Written for:
Arithmancy: Eight - The Powerhouse: write about a person who is considered to be in control feeling insecure
Couple Appreciation: (emotion) Argumentative
Medium pinata: Angst
Film Festival: Character - Compulsive liar
Scavenger Hunt: Write the trope - enemies to lovers.
Writing Club: Word -Investment
Amber's Attic: 18. It is untrue that bravery can be measured by lack of fear. It takes guts to tremble. It takes tremble to love.
Showtime: Light Romance/Madman - write about a secret relationship. Alt. write about revenge
Liza's Loves: (au) soulmate, (au) reincarnation
Lyric Alley: Now I pine for phantom pain
Ami's Audio Admirations: 19. Jack in the Box Jesus - Word: Rebirth
Sophie's Shelf: The Vamp: Write about a woman who is rotten to the core.
Lo's Lowdown: Tony Stark: trait: arrogance. Alt. write about someone who seems arrogant but is insecure.
Make An Easter Basket: Shredded Construction Paper: write about something being different beyond its exterior (can be person or item)
Guess The Name: Buffy - Azkaban
Auction: (dialogue) "Are you jealous that I'm pretty and you're not?"